▪ I. fig, n.1
(fɪg)
Forms: 3–5 fige, 4–6 fyg(g(e, (4 fijg), 5–8 figg(e, 6–9 Sc. and 9 dial. feg, 9 dial. vig, 5– fig.
[a. OF. fige, figue, ad. Prov. figa, figua = Sp. higa (obs. rare), It. fica (rare):—popular Lat. *fīca fig, f. L. fīcus (u-stem) fig-tree, fig. The L. fīcus was taken into OE. as f{iacu}c (see fike n.1) and was represented directly in OF. by fi (= It. fico, Sp. higo, Pg. figo), and *fīca by fie.]
1. a. The fruit of the fig-tree or Ficus, esp. the fruit of the Ficus carica. † figs of Pharaoh: the fruit of the Sycamore Fig (Ficus Sycomorus).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 150 Swete frut, þet me clepeð figes. c 1325 Coer de L. 1549 Fyggys, raysyns, in frayel. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 29 Ne on croked kene þorne kynde fygys wexe. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 50 Fyge trees þat beren no leves but fyges vpon the smale braunches, & men clepen hem Figes of Pharoon. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 15 An sethe fygys in Wyne & grynde hem. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 573 The milky Fig, the Damson black and white. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. lxxxii. 713 Apply a Cataplasm of Figgs and Raisons stoned. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 679 Beneath his ample leaf the luscious fig. 1801 Southey Thalaba ii. xxxiii, Before their guest They laid..the luscious fig. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. ii. 552 In the orchard hangs aloft The purple fig. |
b. = fig-tree. Any tree of the genus
Ficus,
esp. Ficus carica.
Indian fig: the Banyan (
F. indica), or the Pipal (
F. religiosa).
| 1382 Wyclif Num. xx. 5 The whiche ne fige getith, ne vynes, ne powmgarnettis. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1364 Fyges, & many a date tree There wexen. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 159 Fygge or fyge tre, ficus. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 222 Figs and Mulberries will be propagated by their Suckers. 1763 Churchill Gotham 1, The Fig, which..gave our first Parents Cloaths. 1860 Delamer Kitch. Gard. 150 The Fig—Ficus carica. |
c. In the East and West Indies popularly applied (like the corresponding words in
Fr.,
Sp., and
Pg.), to the Banana, also to the Cochineal Cactus.
| 1582 N. Litchfield tr. Castaneda's Discov. E. Ind. ix. 22 Fruites: that is to saye, Pomegranets, Figges of the Indias, Orenges. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Fryke Two Voy. into E.I. 31 Pisang Figgs, which are a long kind of Figg. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 17 The Indian Fig..call'd Jamacan..is the same Plant that..bears the Cochineal. 1794 [see cochineal 2]. 1871 Kingsley At Last ii. 49 At St. Thomas's we had been introduced to bananas (figs, as they are miscalled in the West Indies). 1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk xvi. 351 Bananas named for their..flavour and other qualities..apple or honey (the smallest), fig (very small), plum (small). 1970 Country Life 17–24 Dec. 1221/3 In the West Indies a fig is a small banana. |
† 2. A poisoned fig used as a secret way of destroying an obnoxious person. Often
fig of Spain,
Spanish fig,
Italian fig.
Obs.| c 1589 Theses Martinianæ 21 Have you given him an Italian figge? 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle iii. 1151 This boy..long he shall not soe, if figs of Spain..their force retaine. 16.. North Theret's Lives (1657) 45 Tamberlaine..did cause a Fig to be given him, and after his death married his widow. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals iii. i. 233 Some report he was poyson'd with an Italian Fig. 1691 Bethel Provid. God 33 He..durst not have disobeyed for fear of a Dose, or a Fig. |
3. As the name of a disease, from the resemblance in shape.
† a. In human beings: The disease
Ficus, or the piles. Also
pl. Obs.| 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 707 Hic figus, the fyge. 1483 Cath. Angl. 130/1 Þe Figes, quidam morbus, ficus. c 1550 Lloyd Treas. Health (1585) M ij, It is good if the fygge blede. |
b. Farriery. An excrescence on the frog of a horse's foot, somewhat resembling a
fig.| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 414 Of the Figge. A Horse having receiued any hurt..in the sole of his foot..there will grow in that place a certain superfluous piece of flesh, like a Figge. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 142 You must pare the hoofe..betwixt the sole of the foot and the figge. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Fig in the manege, is a sort of wart on the frush and sometimes all over the body of a horse. 1823 in Crabb Technol. Dict. |
4. a. As a type of anything small, valueless, or contemptible; also,
† a dried fig;
a fig's end. In phrases:
† never a fig = not at all;
(to † bid, care, give) a fig, or fig's end for;
to mind, value (a person or thing), be worth a fig or fig's end.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 12206 He fortherit neuer a fyge with his fight yet. c 1450 Crt. of Love xcviii, A Figge for all her chastite! 1571 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 115 If hee threaten as an enemie, a figge for his Monarchie. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 173 A feg for the fead, and a buttoun for the braggyne of all the heretikis..in Scotland. 1600 Rowlands Let. Humours Blood i. 7 All Beere in Europe is not worth a figge. 1632 Sherwood s.v. Figge, Not to care a figge for one, faire la figue à. 1634 Withals Dict. 557 Fumi umbra non emerim, I will not give a fig's end for it. 1710 Brit. Apollo III. 3/1 No Man Does care a Fig for such a Woman. 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. i. 49 Pshah! a Fig for his Mony! 1840 Thackeray Catherine vii, We have it from nature, and so a fig for Miss Edgeworth. 1852 ― Esmond iii. ii, Nor..is the young fellow worth a fig that would. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., A feg's end for it. 1887 Poor Nellie (1888) 185 Charlie does not care a fig about it. |
† b. Used contemptuously; so
fig's end used as a substitute for some other word. Also as an exclamation.
Cf. fiddlestick(
s! fiddlestick's end! Obs.| 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 322 Vertue? A figge, 'tis in our selues that we are thus, or thus. Ibid. ii. i. 256 Rodo. She's full of most bless'd condition Iago. Bless'd figges-end. 1752 Foote Taste ii. Wks. 1799 I. 23 This is Mynheer Baron de―. Lady. Mynheer Figs-end. |
5. dial. A raisin.
| 1787 Grose Prov. Gloss., Figs, raisins, W. 1880 in W. Cornw. Gloss. 1882 Hampsh. Gloss. |
6. slang.| 1798 Edgeworth Pract. Educ. I. 315 Coiners give..names to..the various kinds of false money which they circulate; such as flats, or figs, or figthings. |
7. Soap-making. (See
quots.)
| 1885 Carpenter Manuf. Soap i. 12 The appearances known as ‘grain’ or ‘strike’ in a hard soap and ‘fig’ in a soft soap, are due to the crystalline character of soap. Ibid. vi. 161 To produce a grained soft-soap (or ‘fig’). |
8. fig (of tobacco): a small piece.
Cf. fid.
| 1837–40 Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 187 How are you off for tobacco? said Mr. Slick. Grand, said he, got half a fig left yet. 1893 Mrs. C. Praed Outlaw & Lawmaker I. 103 Running round to the store for a fig of tobacco. |
9. attrib. and
Comb. a. simple
attrib., as
fig-box,
fig drum,
fig-juice,
fig-plaster,
fig-skin,
fig-tart,
fig-wasp,
fig-wood,
fig-yard;
fig-like adj. b. objective, as
fig-gatherer,
fig-lover,
fig-seller.
| 1868 Less. Mid. Age 126 The one man of the company set his foot upon the old *fig-box. |
| 1864 Thoreau Cape Cod x. (1894) 324, I saw a great many barrels and *fig-drums. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Figge gatherer, ficetor. |
| 1853 Hickie tr. Aristoph. (1872) II. 637 Pound together garlic with *fig⁓juice. |
| 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. iv. (1858) 28 b, The roots have long *fig-like fibres. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Figge louer, ficetor. |
| 1884 Browning Ferishtah (1885) 56 Try a *fig-plaster: may it ease thy pangs! |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 129/2 A *Fige celler, ficarius. |
| 1855 Browning Fra Lippo 85, I starved..On *fig⁓skins. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Figge tartes, collybia. |
| 1883 G. Allen in Knowl. 3 Aug. 66/1 The *fig-wasps lay their eggs in the fruit of the caprifico. |
| 1875 J. H. Pollen Anc. & Mod. Furn. 33 *Figwood, willow, plane, elm, ash [etc.]. |
| 1570 Levins Manip. 210/29 The *Fygyeard, ficetum. 1874 Farrar Christ 55 Winding thro' the rich figyards and olive groves. |
10. Special comb., as
fig-apple, a kind of apple (see
quot.);
fig-banana, a small variety of the banana common in the West Indies (
Cent. Dict.);
fig-bean, a name for several species of
Lupinus;
fig-bird, (
a)
= beccafico; (
b) see
quot. 1854;
fig-blue, soluble blue;
fig-cake (see
quot. 1858);
fig-dust, finely ground oatmeal, used as food for caged birds (
Cent. Dict.);
fig-eater, (
a) one who eats figs; (
b)
= beccafico;
fig-fauns = L.
fauni ficarii (see Forcellini
s.v. ficarius);
fig-finch = beccafico;
fig-flower, a fig of the first crop;
fig-frail, a frail or basket of figs (see
frail n.);
fig-gnat, a gnat,
Culex ficarius, injurious to the fig;
fig-marigold, a name given to several species of the genus
Mesembrianthemum;
fig-pecker = beccafico;
fig-peepul, the Indian Fig (see above, sense 1 b);
fig-shell, a shell somewhat resembling a fig;
fig-sue dial., a posset of bread, figs, and ale;
fig-Sunday dial., Palm Sunday;
fig-water, a decoction of figs. Also
fig-leaf, -tree, -wort.
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. 542 The *Fig-apple is also newly propagated, the Tree yielding no Blossoms..nor hath the Fruit in it any Core. |
| 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden ccxii. 333 They are usually called Lupines..yet some call them *Fig-beanes after the Dutch name. 1878–86 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Fig-Bean. |
| 1576 Newton Lemnie's Complex. (1633) 105 *Figge-birds. 1854 J. W. Warter Last of Old Squires xiii. 138 The chiff-chaffs; one of which Sussex people call the fig-bird. |
| 1786 N.Y. Directory 26 Coller, Christopher, *fig-blue manufacturer. 1861 Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 1010 The linen..should again be rinsed..in abundance of cold water slightly tinged with fig-blue. |
| 1837 Wheelwright tr. Aristophanes II. 29 She once supplied us with *fig-cakes and figs. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Fig-cake, a preparation of figs and almonds worked up into a hard paste, and pressed into round cakes like small cheeses. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Figge eater, ficarius. 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 216 The Beccafigo or Fig-eater. |
| 1750 Bible (Douay) Jer. I. 39 Therefore shall dragons dwell there with the *fig-fauns. |
| 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. xviii. 162 The *Fig-finch, the Thrush and the Oisters. |
| 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. v. 94 Figs bear twice a year, viz. first in July and August, and are usually call'd *Fig-Flowers. |
| 1607 Middleton Five Gallants iv. v, Upon paths made of *fig-frails. |
| 1658 Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 954 Culex ficarius, i.e. *Fig Gnat. |
| 1731 Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 255 African *Fig-Marygold with a long triangular leaf and a flesh coloured flower. 1881 E. Holub Seven Yrs. in S. Africa I. i. 16 Fig-marigolds of various kinds are especially prominent. |
| 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 267 The ficedula or *figpecker, called by the Italian ‘beccafico’, because it feeds most on figtrees. 1864 A. V. Kirwan Host & Guest i. 2 Several species of dates, fig-peckers, roebuck, and wild boar. |
| 1859 Lang Wand. India 303 The tamarind, the *fig-peepul, the pomegranate, and others of the plains. |
| 1752 Sir J. Hill Hist. Anim. 151 The *Fig-shell, with the depressed clavicle. 1888 Riverside Nat. Hist. I. 352 The species of Ficula are known from their shape as fig or pear shells. |
| 1851 Cumbrld. Gloss., *Fig-Sue, bread and figs boiled in ale. |
| 1850 N. & Q. 1st Ser. II. 68/2 *Fig Sunday. |
| 1747 Mrs. Delany Autobiog. (1861) II. 480 *Fig-water has cured him. |
▪ II. † fig, n.2 Obs. (
fɪg)
[ad. F. figue (in phrase faire la figue to make the gesture described), ad. It. fica; cf. Sp. higa in dar la higa to ‘give the fig’. By some identified with
fig n.1 (for a story purporting to account for the use, see Littré
s.v.). According to others,
It. fica had an indecent sense: see Tommaseo's
Dict.]
A contemptuous gesture which consisted in thrusting the thumb between two of the closed fingers or into the mouth. Also,
fig of Spain, and
to give (a person) the fig.
| 1579 U. Fulwell Art of Flattery ii. C iv/1 For a token I thee sende A dotinge Figge of Spayne. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vi. 62 The Figge of Spaine. 1600 Shepherd's Slumber 90 in England's Helicon Z iv, With scowling browes their follies check and so giue them the Fig. 1891 C. E. Norton Dante's Hell xxv. 133 The thief raised his hands with both the figs, crying, ‘Take that God!’ |
▪ III. fig, n.3 (
fɪg)
[f. fig v.4 2. It has been asserted that in fashion prints ‘Full
fig.’ (abbreviation for
figure) and ‘Demi-fig.’ were formerly used for front and back or side views of the figure; but we have failed to find confirmation of the statement.]
1. Dress, equipment, only in
phr. in full fig.
| 1841 T. Hook Fathers & Sons xxi, In full fig for the ceremony. 1839 De Quincey Casuistry Rom. Meals Wks. III. 269 All belted and plumed, and in full military fig. 1866 Motley Corr. 14 Aug. II. 247 We all turned out in full fig the other day. |
2. Condition, form.
| 1883 Sherer At Home in India 203 Lord Alaric was in great fig. Mod., The horse was in good fig for the race. |
▪ IV. † fig, v.1 Obs. rare.
[f. fig n.1] trans. only in
† to fig away (a person): to get rid of by means of a poisoned
fig. Obs. Cf. fig n.1 2.
| 1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answ. Nameless Cath. 23 Cardinals Allen and Tollet; yea Pope Sixtus quintus himselfe, all figg'd away in a trice. Ibid. 109 What an excellent veine both Popes haue in Figging each other away. |
▪ V. † fig, v.2 Obs. [f. fig n.2] trans. To insult (a person) by giving him the fig: see
fig n.2| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. iii. 123 When Pistoll lyes, do this, and figge me, like The bragging Spaniard. |
▪ VI. † fig, v.3 Obs. Also 7
figge.
[var. of fike v.1; cf. also fidge v.] intr. To move briskly and restlessly; to jog to and fro. Also,
to fig about.
| 1595 Enq. Tripe-wife (1881) 148, I trotted from my trotter stall, And figd about from neates feete neatly drest. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. Handie-Crafts 505 Like as a hound that..upon the sent doth ply, Figs to and fro, and fals in cheerfull cry. 1644 Quarles Barnabas & B. (1651) 73 They that..run to sermons, figge to lectures, pray thrice a day [etc.]. a 1734 North Exam. i. iii. § 125 (1740) 204 Multitudes of factious People incessantly figed about. |
Hence
ˈfigging vbl. n., and ppl. a.| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 6 Not medling with figging, chopping, & changing, nor seeking their living by handycrafts. 1601 Deacon & Walker Answ. to Darel 190 Your violent fiskings and figgings about those your idle vagaries. a 1627 Middleton Chaste Maid iii. ii, Their short figging little shittle-cock heels! a 1659 Osborn Observ. Turks Wks. (1673) 334 Their daily figging up and down the streets..unattended. a 1693 Urquhart Rabelais ii. xxxii, Their..figging Itch, wrigling Mordicancy. a 1734 North Lives I. 99 His figging about at the first entrance. |
▪ VII. fig, v.4 (
fɪg)
[var. of feague.] 1. trans. = feague v. 2 b.
to fig out (a horse): to trot out in lively condition. Also
to fig up, to make lively or spirited.
| 1810 Sporting Mag. XXXVI. 182 He said the horse..was figged with ginger. 1819 Moore Tom Crib's Mem. 24 In vain did they try to fig up the old lad. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 177 Fig out two lively ones [horses]. |
2. to fig out: to dress, ‘get up’. Also
to fig up: to furbish up, make ‘smart’.
| 1825 M. Wilmot Let. 26 Sept. (1935) 223, I figg'd up the petticoat into a broad sash for W{supm}'s waist. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xx, Landsmen are figged out as fine as Lord Harry. 1841 Thackeray Second Funeral Napoleon i, Cowards fig themselves out..as ‘salvage men’. 1872 Punch 9 Nov. 196/1 It [a house] wants a little figging up. 1883 W. C. Russell in Longm. Mag. III. 123 The waiter's costume, as he styled the dress I had figged myself out in. |
† 3. ? To stuff.
Obs. rare—1.
Johnson explains this: ‘To put something useless into a person's head. Low Cant.’
| 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccciii. 378 Away to the Sow she goes, and Figs her in the Crown with another Story. |
▪ VIII. † fig, v.5 slang. Obs. [Of doubtful origin; perh. (like feague, fig v.4, fake) repr. Ger. fegen: see fake v. The spelling fegge (see fig-boy) seems to support this.] intr. To pick pockets. Hence
ˈfigger (see
quot.).
ˈfigging vbl. n. only in
figging-law (see
quot. 1785).
| c 1550 Dice-Play B v a, Hyghe law robbery; Figginge law, picke purse crafte. 1611 Dekker Roaring Girle Wks. 1873 III. 220 All his traine study the figging law. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. Tong., Figger, a little boy put in a window to hand out goods to the diver. Ibid., Figging law, the art of picking pockets. |